Whether it’s just chance that makes them say something a little spine-tingling or it’s something else entirely, here are a bunch of really scary stories from real parents. Sometimes the kids were asleep, other times they were wide awake, either way, they uttered some things that left us speechless.
Maybe He’ll Grow Up to Be a Doctor
Make sure the sharp objects are super-duper out of reach for this little one, because apparently, he has a goal in mind. We aren't saying that he's being influenced by spirits from beyond the grave to exact their messy revenge, but it's something to consider, at the very least.
Maybe this can be channeled for the good, maybe this child could grow up to be a surgeon that will save people's lives and get to see what they look like on the inside!
Well, Get Him Out of There
So many of these stories come from parents – or maybe from the kids themselves – but this one is from a rare half-sister. She was just putting her half-brother down for a nap, and he said he couldn't sleep with the “mean little boy” from the closet.
This is, of course, a classic place for a childhood monster to hide, but the fact is that it was a little boy, and specifically a “mean” little boy. Instead of being a good big sister and scaring the monster, she took him to the beach. Maybe that was his plan the entire time.
Yes, Hello? Catholic Church?
Somebody that is on Twitter by the name of “Doug Judy's Velvet Blazer” apparently has a child that tends to tell creepy stories. From saying that she watched over her parents while they were little to having met her older brother, who died before she was even born, it seems the little one is just a fountain of creepy stuff.
What else has this child revealed? Details about the early lives of her parents? What was her brother like? Does she have any lottery numbers she can pass along? Come on, we need a little more here.
No Vacancy
Hotel rooms are often pretty gross, and usually not all that comfortable. Haunted, however, isn't commonly on the list of amenities. When it comes to hotel horrors, they usually fall into the slasher category, with a man wielding something sharp under the glow of a flickering orange street lamp.
But, as the young child of Sheena Bond says, sometimes there are creepy children inside rooms that you have to sleep in for a few nights. You might not be getting too much sleep, but at least it will only be for a little while.
No Little Monkeys Here
We all know the sing-along song warning against rough-housing, that is the monkeys on the bed song. One person's daughter also liked the song and was having some fun bouncing around in grandma's bed as she sang. Both grandma and the storyteller were singing along, until the daughter froze and sat down, saying Granddad wouldn't like it, even though Granddad had died before she was born.
But she was right. Apparently, he didn't like it when he was alive. Maybe he was famously disciplinarian, and even from the grave, he was able to deliver a firm "no" to such shenanigans.
Sometimes, a Kid Just Knows
For a lot of these stories, there are actually a great number of explanations to consider. For instance, in this story a child smiles and waves at where a hospital bed was long before he was born. The child was only eighteen months old, so maybe he was just practicing smiling and waving. Kids do that sometimes. They want to emulate their parents.
Maybe someone else in the room had made it seem like there was still something there – they gave the area space, or pointed to it or something like that. There is always the chance that he did see something there...
Well, SOMEBODY Was Pushing Her!
Not only did the unnamed daughter of this Twitter user point to the empty corner and say someone was funny, she then announced that Grandma Julie had been pushing her on the swing, despite never even having close to a chance of meeting Grandma Julie.
Was Grandma Julie also in the corner of the room while the book was being read? And what was the book? We don't think that has anything to do with it, we just want to know what were they reading? Maybe a little Dr. Seuss? We bet it was Dr. Seuss.
Ah, So That's How It Happened
The best part about this creepy story is the fact that the kid turned to his parent, told this entire intricate story, and then just went about with his life as normal. And then when he was questioned about it later, he had no memory of the interaction.
Of course, the parent who posted the story never forgot. There was no barn, there was never any fire. We also really appreciate that the child used the term “growed up.” It makes it feel a little more authentic like he was actually someone who might have had a barn.
Post-Mortem Communication
We think there is a magical force that connects the younger generations and the older ones. Maybe it's the desire to see life in new ways, or maybe it's the desire for some fun, but grandkids and their grandparents get along great. Even, as this story goes, if the grandpas haven't been around at the same time as the granddaughter in question.
Calling up the fam on the phone is a common tactic, but usually only to speak to the living. The parent who tells the story, then adds as an extra bit of scary juice that they lived in the same house where her father-in-law passed away. Good.
It's Like a Second-Act Twist
Seeing your deceased grandparents standing outside the window watching you is usually not a good thing, especially if they passed away before you were born, but let's put a positive spin on this. Since the grandparents didn't do anything, it could be easily surmised that they were just checking in on the little one to make sure she was growing up big and strong.
Having a couple of friendly guardian angels is always better than some of the other creatures that have been named on this list.
New Rule: No Talking to Children I Don't See
The worst part about this story is that the little girl clearly does not want her mom listening in on the conversation. She stood up to close the door right after her mom told her there was no boy, and the conversation continued as if she had never been interrupted.
We kind of want to know what they were talking about. Were they discussing the best place to hide from parents? Or was it something closer to “which Pokemon is the absolute coolest”? Given that they were good kids, there's a pretty good chance it was the latter. Though not a hundred percent.
What Is It With Creepy Old Ladies?
Having a canopy bed is usually a dream come true for girls of a certain age. It makes them feel like a princess, and that's never a bad thing. Of course, they also create the perfect separation from the monsters that love to creep around childhood bedrooms when the lights are off, such as this old lady who stands next to the bed.
Is it likely that this old lady is actually a piece of clothing that got hung up, or a shadow, or something else of that ilk? Very.
A Final Goodbye
Getting the stories straight from the kids always makes them seem a little more real. It isn't parents juicing up the story or not remembering. If the kids grow up and can still remember what happened, you know it was real.
Shao Trommashere was fifteen when her grandfather died, but she was at home asleep. Grandpa called out her name, appearing in the bedroom. He put the stuffed dog he had won her on the bed and said goodbye. While Shao was certainly dwelling on the idea of her grandfather's passing this is still a wonderful moment to remember him by.
Talking With the Mister
Dogs are just like children to some. The person who tweeted it has a fur baby who talks to the departed husband. Bulldogs are talkers and like to make noise, even if the person they are talking to is no longer with us.
But the last-second twist tells us that the pup and the guy have never met – he died more than a year before the puppy was adopted. And yet still the dog throws her ball at the chair. Seems a bit like a horror story to us. The wife, still grieving. The new dog, picking up on that grief. It can make for a great film or book.
At Least This Was a Good Thing
We're sure that there are tons of things people will say about how this little guy knew that the family was about to get a little bigger. There's no real answer, though it might come down to the fact something like the fact that he didn't actually say the family was going to get bigger.
He just said that there was a little girl under the Christmas tree. Which, in and of itself, is a pretty creepy thing for a child to say when there's no little girl there. They did get to meet eventually.
It's Three Against One
First off, who goes to a war museum with a six-year-old, a four-year-old, and a two-year-old? We're just saying it seems like there are better options out there. Second, apparently, ALL THREE OF THEM say the man in the plane has blood on his face. They all dubbed him “The Blood Man.” It sounds like another low-budget October production on Netflix.
It was probably just a shadow, or they were connecting two unrelated elements. And yet, if all three of them saw the same thing... What sells it for us is the two-year-old chanting. Never a good sign.
When Is It Too Early to Make a Will?
Look, kid, it doesn't matter how nice these boots are, you don't get to have them for a long, long time. Mom has to look her best when she's getting Starbucks, so no, you can't wear them. Even though some kids might understand the idea behind death, that doesn't mean they understand that there are some things you just shouldn't say.
Maybe once they grow up they'll be able to have that conversation, but thinking about your mother's death just so you can have some sweet footgear is a step too far right now.
Passed Down
The scent of a grandfather is a peculiar thing. We bet that most of us, as long as we had the chance to get to know it, could recall how our older family members smelled. Maybe it was the smell of wood from the shop, or oil from working on the car, or, yes, their cologne.
Of course, none of that explains why this poster reports that the nursery smelled like her departed father's cologne after her child was born. But everybody likes a nice, classic scent, which may be why the son now uses that same cologne.
She Just Wanted to Make a New Friend
Ah, the monster in the closet. Classic! Who among us didn't have to deal with this issue, at least for a little while? People who didn't have closets, we guess.
But this little tyke has taken it one step further. She's not surprised to find someone in there, but she does want to know who it is. What to call this new visitor? Dad, of course, just advised the child to go to sleep, but we're going to assume he took a peek through the doors. Just to make sure.
A Double Scare for Good Measure
So this Twitter user had a vision of a past life, complete with a different point of view and different hair color (how she knew about that is anyone's guess), and then her child yanks her out of it and tells her a most creepy saying.
It's something you'd have to see to believe. Of course, the child could have meant that the mother actually went backwards, as in physically stumbled backward. The other option is that children know when one of their parents is slipping back into a past life. That makes tons of sense.
That Will Protect You
Here's yet another story of some little snot-nosed kid seeing something that wasn't there, but that isn't important. Okay, it is, but we want to talk about the mom's reaction for a second. She jumped out of bed and turned all the lights on.
Would that really help, no matter what it was the child had seen? If it was a home intruder (which it thankfully wasn't), it might make the guy go away, or it would just force him to take the next step. If it was something more supernatural, would it do anything to help other than to make you feel better? It's a ghost. It doesn't care about light.
An Eye-Witness Account
On a trip to Gettysburg, one of the most hallowed places in America, one young kid kept correcting the tour guide with information that he had been given from “The Man in the Uniform.” We are told that this information was more accurate than the information the tour guide was giving, but nobody else could see this uniformed man.
We could be Debbie Downers and say that this was just a story the mom made up for a little bit of attention (two-point-six thousand likes on Twitter), but who knows.
Just Give Me the Pie, Mom
We are of the opinion that four-year-olds love cake more than pie, and we are immediately suspicious of any child that likes pie more. Burnt crust? Fruit in the middle? No.
That's why we're doubly suspicious of the child in this story, who says that lemon meringue pie is his grandfather's favorite, despite “Grampy” being dead more than a decade. A full seven years before the child was even born. Also, “Grampy” told him so. If he then ate the pie, the parents would be justified in calling in an exorcist. Creepy pie-eating kids. Just eat cake like the rest of them.
Thanks, But We Don't Need a Picture
Kids' imaginations are incredibly active as their brains stretch and grow. They picture things that might never occur to an adult, but if they draw a picture of them, everybody will be able to see it when they go to bed that night.
This young gal decided to create an illustration of her personal monster, “The Horned Lady.” Thankfully, the poster didn't attach the picture, but according to her, it was horrifying. But, her daughter is being proactive – she's asked for a canopy because everyone knows monsters can't get you if there is a thin layer of fabric in the way.
Honestly, This One Got Us
Waking up in the middle of the night to see something creepy staring at you from your closet happens at least once when you're a child until you learn to keep the closet closed when the lights go out. But, this time this poster later found out that her uncle, her mom's brother, had died before she was born.
The picture was familiar to her. Did she just place the picture of her uncle over the image she had of the man in her dream? Maybe. Maybe.
Just Like Grandma Used to Sing
Having a grandmother teach a grandchild a classic song from the old country isn't all that odd. It's actually pretty endearing. However, the grandmother is usually alive. Not so here. In fact, Grandma passed away before the son in question was even born. So how on Earth did he start singing a Polish nursery rhyme when he was only three years old?
According to the writer, the family didn't speak Polish at all. Was it from a friend? A preschool teacher? A different family member who escaped notice? We'd really like to find out because this one is wild.
Cool, Cool, Hey, Let's Start Packing and Never Stop
Lots of us, as kids, have imaginary friends. Someone to practice talking with and playing with when the real friends are away. Of course, not all of them are like a stuffed tiger named Hobbes – some of them are hiding secrets. Such as the imaginary friend that this person's now-adult child had, who was named Eliza.
Eliza was sad that the family was moving away since the rest of her family had died. Why give made-up friends such tragic backstories? Give them a good life!
Came For a Quick Visit
A lot of these creepy or strange stories have to do with one or both parties sleeping, and that's to be expected – maybe the kids were still dreaming, or maybe the parents were. It still doesn't change the fact that this story, which has a two-year-old claiming to talk to a distant family member, is pretty creepy.
Right after the son said hello, the parents found out that the same family member had just passed away. Saying hi to an invisible friend is one thing...but just after her very real death? That kid is psychic!
We Get the Feeling This Kid Was Just Weird
Yeah, look, this story might be creepy and all, but if the kid you're babysitting says something like this and then bites you, we think you have bigger problems to deal with. We hope he didn't turn her into a vampire.
If she's also a vampire now, she probably wouldn't include that piece of information. He seems to know a little bit too much about the mythology of these creatures, however. Maybe get that kid out in the sun a little bit. Not because vampires like the sun, but because then he'll be playing outside and not in the basement.
These Kinds of Stories Happen a Lot
One woman by the name of Rainbow Johnson says that she had a bit of extra-sensory perception when she was but four years old. After delivering the news that her uncle had died, her mother admonished her not to be so morbid.
Moments later, the phone rang. Perhaps it's just statistics – eventually, if enough people say random things, one of them will turn out to be true. But WHY, then, does it so often happen with little kids saying that a family member has died? And yet, there is the proof. Nobody would lie on the internet.
Good Thing the Real Estate Market Is Good Right Now!
Sometimes, you just have to move. Like right now. Immediately. The man in the hallway can have all of your stuff. It's just stuff anyway, you can always get more. Hopefully, the next home you live in won't have a man in the hallway.
Actually, just to be safe, you should get a new home that doesn't have any hallways. Just rooms connected to rooms. To get to the dining room from the bedroom you have to go through the laundry room, the office, the living room, down into the basement, and then up into the kitchen. There, problem solved.
It's Not Much, But It's an Honest Haunting
Not every ghost can be a haunted person who died in a tragic way. Some of them are just farmers from Wisconsin with a bunch of kids. Sometimes those farmers wish they were back with their land, working the fields and raising hard-working kids who will follow in their footsteps, not inhabiting a five-year-old in New York or wherever.
Maybe he wonders how Menomonie is doing these days. Are the crops doing okay? Did Bessie heal upright? You can't just leave a farm alone, you have to keep working at it.
Good to Know
The smell of rain is one that a lot of people say they like. The smell of it on the dry ground which is called petrichor has lots of its own fans, and we might have just figured out why. When a child is in a coma and then tells you what God smells like, that's the kind of thing that you notice and remember.
Apparently, she did it for years afterward, too. We've all stepped outside on the deck or the front step and taken a big, deep breath of rainy air, so maybe she's on to something. There are certainly worse things to smell.
Meet Eddie
This is the kind of story that isn't exactly creepy, it's more like it's...okay. It's less horrifying and more like “huh, that's interesting.” Unless you think about it, of course. There are a lot of elements that line up a little too perfectly.
Of course, if we're talking about going all the way back to the great uncle's generation, then we bet that basically, every home has had either an Eddie or an Edward in it at one point or another. Of course, there probably haven't been as many that have died in those homes.
There Are Few Non-Haunted Rooms in a Hospital, Honestly
Yeah, unfortunately, hospitals are full of these stories. They're one of the classic creepy places that are heavily featured in horror movies, TV shows, and video games. They might not be as creepy as burned-down asylum-slash-orphanages, but the long corridors, the hundreds of rooms, the constant illness...it all comes together to make some really creepy stories such as this one.
But if even the people who work at a hospital are creeped out, then you know the tale has some staying power. Nurses have seen everything. If an actual ghost came up to them they probably wouldn't be phased.
Kids Can be Hurtful Sometimes
Having a creepy creature that haunts you from the shadowy confines of your closet or from under your bed may be one thing, but is it too much to ask that those creatures would look like actual monsters and not like the parents that you're supposed to be fond of?
This is absolutely the kind of story that gets revitalized when the child is in therapy twenty years later. We hope at least the father got over it!
Not Cool, Bump
Ghosts and spirits, if horror movies tell us anything, usually don't intrude on the most private moments, like getting into the shower. They may lurk outside the curtain, waiting for you to notice them standing there, but they won't actually peek in. But Bump, the “imaginary friend” decided he needed to see a little more.
Have to nip that sort of behavior in the bud before it develops into something worse. We have a feeling that this poster, ever since that message so long ago, checks around the bathroom during her showers.
It Was Probably Just an Animal. Probably
If you live out in the country, or even in the suburbs, the darkness of night can bring up various creepy creatures that prowl just past your field of vision. Of course, it's the imaginative two-year-olds who will wave to the creatures and invite them inside for a snack, such as here.
Thankfully, the quick-thinking Mom knew that the way to defend her home from any and all invaders of both the natural and supernatural was to surround the place with lights for an entire week. It might have annoyed the neighbors, but they weren't the worry, now were they?
Well, That's Just Teasing
So this woman on Twitter tells us that one of her children constantly talked about “her other mother” but we don't get to hear any of the stories!
That's unfair, is what it is. Did the woman describe the grim way she passed from this life to the next? Did she instruct the child to do some specific tasks? Did she just tell the kid to go and scare her new Mom for a little while? That's what we would do if we were ghosts. Scare people for the heck of it.
Maybe He Just Wants to Talk
Even daddies have daddies, as this four-year-old learned when he brought the topic up to his father. Those daddies might not be around anymore, but you can still look back and appreciate the good times of having them sit on your bed and wish you a good night.
But it seems this little one has been having quality time with Daddy's daddy, in fact, he was able to see him just last night, since he sat on his bed.
From Beyond the Grave
Kids love their grandparents and grandparents love their grandkids. Even if grandparents aren't around long enough to spend time with their grandchildren, they have a bond which is stronger than that.
In this story, a mom says that as soon as her kids were old enough to talk, they said that their grandmother would sit on their bed at night and tell them stories, as well as grandma's nickname for their mother. According to the mom, it was all true. Explainable? Yes. Still really, really creepy? Also yes!
Let Her Sing You a Song
If “The Lullaby Lady” isn't going to be a forgettable horror movie on Netflix in the next few years, somebody is missing a big opportunity. Think of the small-time actors who need credits on their resumes before they can move on to something people will actually hear about!
Anyway, this story is the perfect mixture of creepy and simple. She's called the Lullaby Lady because she stands next to your bed and hums. Also, she shows up in your room and makes parents want to sell their houses.
Let's Just Close Those Curtains
The moon tells you stories, does it? Well, that's nice. Oh, they're about me? How funny. What? They're about me as a child, and it knows everything? Yeah, you're going to sleep in a windowless basement from now on.
This parent might have a bit of a scary story to tell to the other parents, but unless the moon can tell us some specifics, we're going to chalk this one up to overactive imagination on the kid's part. Oh hey, I just got an email. It's from the moon, and it's just a subject line: “How dare you.”
It Still Could Have Been a Rabbit
There is a pretty high number of beasts that prowl around the woods, and you rarely, if ever, see them. At first, this story had a pretty simple explanation, but then the kid added a few details that don't really make sense. Big yellow eyes? Rabbits don't usually have those. They do have long teeth, though! They use them to tear plants to tiny little shreds.
Could they use those big chompers to tear other things into tiny shreds? Maybe, maybe. Probably. If “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” has taught us anything, rabbits can be the worst monsters.
The Full Dang Name
So many of these stories have kids talking to deceased family members, but this one goes a level beyond even that. Yes, the little girl in the story is talking to the empty swing next to her (but was it actually empty?!), and says it was the Twitter user's aunt.
And then she called the person she was swinging with “Annie Mae Adams,” which was the full name of the Twitter user's aunt. The full name! We could understand the first name Annie, or maybe Annie Mae, or maybe even just the last name, but all three parts?
Far Too Specific for Our Liking
Pretty much every child will see (or think they see) something creepy at some point. It's when they start to get specific that problems will arise, vis-a-vis exorcists, moving across the state, having to battle with an army of the undead.
For instance, this child said that there's a man with bleeding eyes who comes from the tree in the front yard of their who apparently attempts to “put blood in his mouth.” It's true what they say. Details really do heighten an experience.
Horror Writers, Take Notes
This is gold! People who are trying to create something scary need to be around kids more often. It's the perfect family story – Grandma gives the car to one of her daughters, then passes on. Not an uncommon story.
Then, her son (did he know Grandma? Hard to tell) asks why the old lady is crying. The one in the car. Which was from a grandmother. Family drama, kids seeing things that aren't there. The script practically writes itself. Is the car haunted? Is it the kid? There are lots of ways to go here. Let's go with both.
It's Like Inception
Our dreams are our brain's way of processing things that happened – putting them into memories, categorizing them, that sort of thing.
We bet a lot of parents have these sort of creepy dreams occasionally since they're worried about their kids being safe and happy. But to wake up into your own child stroking your hair delivering a creepy saying, into a SECOND WAKEUP? It's pushing the boundaries of what we call creepy straight into what we call bed-wetting terror. Time for this mom to set up a totem.
From the Mouth of Grown Babes
Most of these stories have parents or caretakers of children revealing the creepy things that have happened, but this one is from the actual kid.
This guy says that once – just once, mind you – he seemed to almost go into a trance, and then chanted a classic creepy kid saying. Another father, fire, bodily harm...all the hits. He then snapped out of the trance and, we have to assume, continued his toddler life as normal.
Ask and Ye Shall Receive
We don't know how old she was when this event happened, but it was clearly important to her if she still remembers it. She even has a good memory of Grandma's cigarettes, which isn't the kind of thing that most kids remember fondly.
Whether this was just a little bit of wind and the memory of smoke (smells are some of the most ingrained sensory data our brains keep) or something more – something deeper – is up to her to decide.